Egolzwil 3 and Sumpf

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Egolzwil 3

   Archaeologists named a whole Neolithic culture after Egolzwil, a small village in the canton of Lucerne, because the settlements found in the Wauwiler Moos, a former lake turned into peat bog, revealed a way of life older than anything else known in the region at the time. Egolzwil 3, one of these sites, was a village of farmers who lived on the shore of a small lake over six thousand years ago, and it counts as one component of UNESCO's inscription of prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps. The lake was drained in the nineteenth century to create farmland, and the remains were preserved in the wet peat.

   Read the complete Egolzwil 3 write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Egolzwil 3 is where the day begins. Next is Ägelmoos.

2. 2. Ägelmoos

   Lake Hallwil is a long, narrow lake in the Aargau, lying north to south between low hills, and it is the quiet cousin of the bigger Swiss lakes. At its northern end stands a moated castle, Schloss Hallwyl, a grey medieval fortress surrounded by water that looks as if it belongs on a stage, and which holds a museum of its centuries of family life. The lake's shore is a mix of reed beds, meadows and villages, and the water is clean enough for swimming in summer. Rowing boats and small sailboats drift across it on warm afternoons.

   Read the complete Ägelmoos write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Ägelmoos comes up about 24 km into the recorded legs. Next is Sumpf.

3. 3. Sumpf

   Zug-Sumpf was a Bronze Age village on the northern shore of Lake Zug, near the mouth of the river Lorze between Cham and Steinhausen, and the waterlogged ground preserved wooden floors, posts and objects for over three thousand years. Excavations in the twentieth century recovered pottery, bronze tools and even remains of food, and the site sits on the World Heritage list as part of the prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps. Some of the finds are displayed in the museum of prehistory in Zug. Today the site lies under modern buildings and meadows, and only the name, which means swamp, recalls its watery origin.

   Read the complete Sumpf write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 59 km into the recorded legs you reach Sumpf. Next is back through Ägelmoos.

4. 4. back through Ägelmoos

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Ägelmoos write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Ägelmoos, late in the day. Next is Egolzwil 3.

5. 5. Egolzwil 3

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Egolzwil 3 write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Egolzwil 3. That is the ride.